After going undefeated in group play and surviving two grueling matchups against East powerhouses, the Indiana Pacers have met the final team standing between them and the inaugural In-Season Tournament championship and $500k for everyone, the mighty Los Angeles Lakers.
For the Pacers, this means more to them than it would for most teams. Indiana has gotten the most attention they have gotten in years because of this tournament.
Most notably, the last two games against Milwaukee and Boston, thanks to the efforts of Tyrese Haliburton, who has fully arrived on the scene and let his name be known as a sleeper MVP candidate and legitimate superstar.
However, as history has shown, the one obstacle standing between Indiana and glory for the past decade has more or less been one man: LeBron James.
James and the Pacers have quite the history with one another, as going back to 2012, they have met in the playoffs five times, including three years in a row from 2012 to 2014 and two years in a row, from 2017 to 2018, with LeBron being on the Cavaliers for the second run and the Heat for the first run.
Let's discuss those five playoff series and how much of a Kryptonite LeBron has been for Indiana since 2012.